Thong-type bikini swimsuit bottoms and briefs are known in the art. They are particularly suitable for sun tanning because of large areas of body exposure. However, extensive body exposures can also be embarrassing to many users when walking around in a public area, such as at a beach or a resort.
On the other hand, one-piece swimsuits or bikini swimsuits have less body exposures. It is more comfortable to wear one-piece or bikini swimsuits at a beach or at a pool party. However, when the swimsuit wearer is exposed to the sun or the lamps of a tanning booth, these types of swimsuits will leave a white outline of the shape of the garment. The white outline will often be seen when the person wears a swimsuit or other piece of clothing having a shape different from the one used to obtain the tan.
Therefore, because of the above-described reasons, it is desirable to have different types of swimsuits and to select the appropriate one for a specific purpose and occasion. However, this can be costly and inconvenient. Particularly with a two-piece bikini swimsuit, the top portion already provides a sufficient body exposure. To obtain sun tan around the buttocks, one needs to change to a thong style swimsuit.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,240,560 (to DeCaro) discloses a versatile swimsuit with accessories, which utilizes a band wrap at selected areas to change the shape of a bikini top, adjust the cut, and style of a swimsuit. More particularly, DeCaro teaches using a band wrap to wrap the rear panel of a swimsuit together to provide a thong style like swimsuit. The band wrap is made of a flexible material including elastic between the opposing inner and outer fabric panel. However, although using a band wrap to wrap a small area may be feasible, to wrap an entire rear panel into a tubular band wrap can be difficult and uncomfortable. Furthermore, the band wrapped rear panel has a poor appearance, which will affect negatively on a user's interest.
Based on the above discussion, it is apparent that it is desirable to have a swimsuit accessory device which enables a convenient conversion of a conventional or a bikini swimsuit style to a thong style as needed. Furthermore, it is also desirable to have a device which is able to convert the front panel of a swimsuit to a style having more body exposure for the purpose of sun tanning.
Such a need is not only present for swimsuits, it is also desirable to have the device applicable to panties so that the conversion can be made conveniently in a private environment.
Moreover, it is further desirable to have a device which is not only able to convert the style of a bottom panel of a swimsuit or panties, it is also able to convert the style of a top panel of a swimsuit, or a tube top, or a bra.
Additionally, it is also desirable to have a multifunctional device which enables converting the style of clothing and also decorating the clothing.